“It feels recent,” he said. “It is the best thing that has ever occurred with me.”

The pair tied the knot in 1992 after what Beatty jokes was “43 years” of dating, and share four children together, Stephen, 24, Benjamin, 22, Isabel, 19, and Ella, 16. And while many of his fans were surprised when he decided to settle down, Beatty said he always knew he would once he found the right person.

“I was not afraid of marriage. I was afraid of divorce,” he said. “I was right.”

Beatty and Bening met on the set of the 1991 film Bugsy. The actor said the two acted “professionally” while shooting, but as soon as the movie wrapped things quickly turned romantic between the pair.

“At the end of the movie, we decided to [get together] — it was a rather immediate decision,” he said.

But while Beatty may be a happily married man, he admitted to hitting on DeGeneres back in the day. Beatty and DeGeneres first crossed paths with each other when she appeared with Garry Shandling on The Larry Sanders Show.

Beatty said he was “very impressed” with DeGeneres’ performance in the episode in which she sleeps with Shandling (as Sanders). “I told Garry that and we had a long talk about you.”

“I think you didn’t know I was gay at time,” said DeGeneres.

“I didn’t. I had no idea,” Beatty said. “I knew you were happy. I didn’t know you were gay.”